A winter's day in November / Un jour d'hiver en novembre

It's only mid-November, but today was a perfect winter's day, with a cloudless sky and a cold north wind.  This is the kind of day I try to describe when people who live in northern climates ask me what winter is like in the Languedoc.  It's dry and bright and the sun still feels hot so long as you're out of the wind.

C'est mi-novembre, mais déjà c'est une journée parfaite d'hiver aujourd'hui.  Un ciel sans nuages et un vent froid du nord.  C'est la sorte de jour que j'essaye décrire quand quelqu'un qui habite un climat du nord me demande: 'l'hiver dans le Languedoc, c'est quoi?'.  Il fait sec, la lumière est éclatante et le soleil est chaud si on est à l'abri du vent.

The low light shines through the olive branches, silvering the undersides of the leaves against the dark shadows and the bright sky.

	Today was the right phase of the moon for garlic, so we planted ours around the terracotta pots which Kate has written about on Hills and Plains Seedsavers, 7 cloves around each pot. Nous avons planté l'ail autour des pots en terrecuite duquels Kate a écrit sur le blog Hills and Plains Seedsavers.
	We planted the lettuce seedlings from the seeds Kate gave us.
	The red cabbages and the caulflowers are doing well, but the mizuna is struggling a bit against the snails. Les choux rouges et les choufleurs vont bien, mais le mizuna se bat contre les escargots.

I love sowing peas and broad beans - the seedlings come up looking so sturdy and hopeful.  A good omen that spring will follow the winter.